I have a 1990 240 with approx 90K miles. The odometer has started to act flaky over the past year. I took the instrument panel apart to take a look at the gears and found nothing unusual - some wear, but no broken teeth and no cracks. When the odometer does work, it rolls in a jerky fashion. When it does not work, I can usually get it to start rolling by giving the instrument panel a good rap. The speedometer needle works fine, so I assume the transmitter is OK. Most people on the brickboard with odometer problems suggest a replacement of the gear - has anyone had other problems such as a bad motor or electronic component problems? Or does this also sound like a gear problem?

Thanks,
Fred

I would suspect the gear, as it is the most frequent cause of non-functioning odometers. I, however, had a different problem with a temporary speedo that I had in my car. The gears were in good condition, but the housing that the little motor sits in, on the small circuit board, just fell off (the connection broke and needed to be resoldered). So, I just assumed that the motor was probably not working. You should also check the wiring. There are two wires, a thin blue and black wire, going from the side circuit board to underneath the speedo's faceplate. Make sure that those wires haven't been disconnected.

If you have a different set of gears, swap them out, or at least make sure that the little tooth gear can rotate freely inside the grooved clear edge.

Good luck!
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Regards,
Eric Staufer,
'89 244DL 117k (now with a fixed odometer!) :-)